Hacker News Reader

Comment by D9u | Hacker News Reader

I fail to see how everyone is now considered to be a potential terrorist simply because some (mostly) Saudi nationals hijacked a few planes 11 years ago.

It is an affront to our dignity, especially in light of the fact that "General Aviation" (Private jets) terminals are not held to the same level of scrutiny.

http://www.tsa.gov/stakeholders/security-directives

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/practical-travel-safety-issue...

View on HN

I had the privilege of flying on a private plane this summer. "Not held to the same level of scrutiny" is a major understatement. There were no checks whatsoever, only a gate with a keypad standing between us and the airplane. We could travel with whatever we wanted on the plane. Yes, we had as many duffle bags as there were people, and no, nobody was even around to ask what was inside those bags.

It is a clear illustration of the utter pointlessness of the TSA checkpoints. The kind of terrorists who attacked us in 2001 could have used a private plane packed with C4 just as easily as a commercial jet.

If people who own private jets were subjected to the same level of harassment the TSA wouldn't exist a week later

Federal agents have lately been doing more searches of general-aviation aircraft. Typically on landing, when the filed flight plan had the plane coming from a state where marijuana has been decriminalized.

Doing the checks on landing doesn't address security though (rather than just drugs), so the airport checks are definitely pointless from that point of view. It's to show the public that politicians are 'tough on crime', even if they're not entirely committed to actually improving anything

Just how easy do you think it is to acquire enough C4 to get the same effect as a fully fueled jetliner without drawing unwanted attention?

I would try to google this but I'm afraid this will get logged by NSA-like agencies and I might be subject to harrassement next time I vist the US. The terrorists surely achieved their end goal.

Remember George Carlin's words: "It's a big club, and you ain't in it" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5dBZDSSky0

Reply on news.ycombinator.com